Nitrocellulose was once widely used for automotive finishes. Henry Ford had said "Give them any color they want as long as it's black." This was significant since a black nitrocellulose car finish did not show yellowing on aging. It was this problem with yellowing which led to the phase out of nitrocellulose for auto finishes as consumers demanded more than basic black.
Yellowing continues to be a problem in nitrocellulose uses for furniture lacquers and clear nail polish.
Technological advances continued even though nitrocellulose yellowing was not addressed. The development of an improved nitrocellulose manufacturing process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,019. A water based nitrocellulose spray paint is described in European Patent Application 0 353 477 Al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,621 discloses pinhole-free nitrocellulose coatings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,619 discloses an improved film forming nitrocellulose nail polish.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,724 discloses the use of bis-hydroxyphenyl-3-alkanes for prevention of yellowing. It would appear from U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,281 that a need existed for non-yellowing clear acrylate coatings similar to the unresolved problem with nitrocellulose yellowing.
Thus, an unsatisfied need existed prior to the present invention to prevent yellowing when nitrocellulose was manufactured and used in the form of solution, emulsion or coating.